You Pulled Me Closer To Love
by loulou365
Summary: Our lives are built on memories. When pain is all memories can bring is it better to just get rid of them ?
1. Chapter 1

The sound of his own footsteps pounded in his head as he ran mindlessly in the direction of home. He stumbled a couple times trying his best not to harm his precious load. He felt his palms become wet and warm with blood dripped from in between his fingers. He ran faster.

She would bleed to death if he didn't get her back to Konoha. He needed a medic .One who knew everything. The best because Ino was hurt extremely bad.

Ino's voice sounderd threw his head over and over. She had screamed at the top of her lungs and he had seen the look in her eyes you could see every terrible human emotion written on her blood spattered face. The emotion that hit him the most was helplessness. Ino had never felt so helpless. She was always in control. Her eyes and mouth screamed for help. The pain she was being inflicted with rang threw the air making every hair on Shikamaru's body stand up.

There it was. He pushed threw the hospital doors stunning everyone with his grand entry. He looked around scatter-brained. Then yelled out knowing someone would here" Tusanda ,Sakura"

His voice was herd from all wings and both owners of the names were there within an instant. They both looked at each other and then at what Shikamaru had in his arms. He reluctantly allowed Tusanda to lift the woman from his arms.

"Oh Ino." Sakaru covered her mouth trying to process everything.

"Stay Sakaru."Tusanda said turning from them both. She walked fast passing the front desk and yelling back to the receptionist." I need three of our best in OR 1. Stat!"

Shikamaru stood in the lobby watching the last of Ino disappearing on a gurney behind two large swinging doors.

"Shikamaru." A powerful voice commanded his attention. He had been staring at the swinging doors ever since Ino had disappeared behind them. "Shikamaru we did all we could but, to many vital organs were injured and to much blood was lost." there was a long pause.

"Shikamaru!" Tusanda tugged at his vest.

He looked at her with a sadness that seemed unfitting for him .He was so strong and unbreakable .Seeing him in this state was to much.

"Shikamaru I am so sorry." Tusanda attempted to comfort him showing a compassionate side. She set her hand on Shikamaru's broad shoulders. "She's still alive, just barley , but she won't wake up there was to much damage. We have a machine breathing for her and watching her heart rate but she's not going to come out of this Shikamaru."

There was another long pause before any motion was made. Then Shikamaru looked up from the spot he was staring at on the white hospital floors.

"Can I see her?" He managed to say choking on his words.

Tusanda turned and walked threw the to the doors she had come from with Shikamaru walking as if it took all his energy just to lift his feet.

She stood in front of a door with wood trim and white walls all around it signaling to him to step inside. Shikamaru made no movement to or away from the door he just stood . Seeing her would just make everything Tusanda said real. Seeing her would be his breaking point.

He slowly walking into the room.

Ino lay on the small hospital bed . Her chest rose and feel in a smooth rhythm with the sound of the breathing machine pushing oxygen in and out of her. The beeping of the heart rate monitor range threw the small room. Sun trickled over her tranquil face. Her blonde hair drifted over the pillow. Her slender arms, paler than normal ,lay out side of the sheets. She was there but she wasn't . Her body lay in front of him but Shikamaru could not feel her soul. He couldn't feel her very distinct energy.

Tusanda watched as the man fell to his knees . A tear drifted down her check as she closed the door hearing Shikamaru's load yells on the other side calling for someone who could no longer answer.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for my spelling of the names last chapter. I hate to make excuses and I know your going to say 'then don't' but I am gonna. Any ways first of all I don't have any Naruto names in my spell check and second I am not very familiar with the names I don't write them in my everyday life so don't expect me to memorized them. I'm not sure if the comment someone left was meant to be mean but I got a vibe and I feel I should legitimize my human error.(if that wasn't a bitchy way to start this chapter I don't know what is)

Drifting in and out of nightmares that evoked tears and screams from you was not the most reassuring thing when you repeat the words 'I _will _be alright'

Shikamaru sat at the small oak table .Sun pored threw the window into the small kitchen. Nothing moved the house was still as if it knew something was missing. The small clock above the stove was the only thing making noise. Its ticking rang through the small house an almost eerie tone to it. The sound was a constant reminder Shikamaru was still alive. That he was still breathing and she ,in a couple of days would be taken off of the machines, he would never hear her breathing again.

Where should he go from here. Shikamaru didn't know up from down at the moment. He didn't know how to move forward and he knew there was no moving back even though he had hoped there was. It was the scars of the past and fears of the future that immobilized him. Leaving him stuck in a moment ,a horrifying lonely sometimes scary moment, not able to move in one direction or the other.

Shikamaru jolted in his seat when a loud knock sounded at the door . He didn't move just sat and stared at the large entrance hoping who ever was on the other side simply left but instead of hearing foot steps shuffle away the door knob turned slowly. The wood creak and a familiar yet unfamiliar face appeared.

The tall Sand woman stood for a moment staring at Shikamaru and then stepped fully inside. "We need to talk."

Shikamaru considered thrusting himself up and uncharacteristically scream for this unwanted pest to leave him but that would be rude. Instead he stood went to the small pantry and took a folding chair off a hook. The woman gave him a strange look and then sat on the folding chair Shikamaru had set up next to the table.

"I'm going to need you to write up a short report about what happened so we can file it. Thee accident was on Sanu land so we feel responsible for your loose."a folder with a couple sheets of paper slide from the woman's slender fingers onto the table.

"You expect me to believe you came all the way here just to give me paper work Temari." Shikamaru furrowed his brow and stared Temari down but she did not flinch she simply rose in an extremely calm manner.

"Shikamaru I knew you once ,I loved you once and I might not know you anymore but the former you was so madly in love with Ino you ….could …uh.. something bad… "Temari couldn't find the exact words that would express her restlessness but knew Shikamaru would catch her drift." I don't know how you would take this whole thing. I wanted to make sure that you were okay. I may not know you but I still care about you whether you return the feelings or not."

Temari turned. Shikamaru knew what she said was true. He saw the look in her eyes. Most of the time they were cold and emotionless but when they did poses feeling it over whelmed her expression.

Tamari stood there for awhile waiting for a break down or at least a couple words but nothing happened. Shikamaru simple stood walked past her to the door and opened it.

"I will have the report done by tonight and have it sent to you by morning. I presume you are staying in the Konoha ambassador apartments "Shikamaru said coldly.

Memory

Shikamaru lay on Ino's bedroom floor staring at her glow-in-the-dark-star-covered ceiling. He had been lying there for more than an hour listening to the blonde rant and rave about this and that.

Talking to Shikamaru was like trying to start a conversation with a rock ,but he was a good listener and that was all Ino needed. Normally she would figure her problems out all by her self. All Shikamaru need to do was sit and watch her pace back and forth arguing with herself. Most of what she said contradicted her next comments which cracked Shikamaru up.

'What a troublesomely complicated girl' is what he would always say with somewhat of a smile on his face.

"Well, I guess I could just not take that way home any more and just avoid that stupid boy." Ino finish and Shikamaru twisted on the floor to face the clock. Ino had fix the dilemma in 10 minutes .That was her best time yet.

He turned back towards her and watched as she fell face first into her bed. She mumble into her pillows making her words drone together incomprehensibly. Ino then proper he head up on her hands and stared down at the lethargic boy on her bedroom floor.

Ino now fifteen wasn't allowed to have boys in her bedroom alone , but the exception was Shikamaru. The Yamanaka and Nara families were closely nit.

"Do you think we're supposed to come out unchanged?" Ino stared down at him a childish look of wondering on her face.

"Out of what ?" Shikamaru stared at Ino confused.

"I don't….know….I guess.. I'm wonder if you can come back from a mission think the same things you thought before you left. Because the last mission I went on….. I don't know but I went into it exited, ready to protect my village." Shikamaru watched Ino's face as it slipped into and unbelievable sadness and rather than just staring at the ceiling one ear open to her words her looked her right in the eyes his arms behind him supporting his body up from the floor with both his ears listening to her." I had to kill someone. A boy our age. He was probably protecting his village or clan or family and I had to kill him to protect the woman I was escorting. I had to kill him because I am a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village."

Ino throat burned as she tried to hold back her tears. Shikamaru saw the distress in her face. He quickly pushed himself off the floor. And then kneeled on Ino's bed encircling her with his large arms.

She wrapped her arms around his waist with her head berried in his chest. Ino didn't want him to look at her in this state. Her tears dampened his shirt. Ninja don't cry over stuff like this she though.

Ino was hurting and Shikamaru knew no other way to comfort her except to hold her as close as he could. Shikamaru's warmth engulfed Ino making her sniffles subside and her breathing even. She felt safe here. This was one of those moments you just wish you can stay in forever. You want the clock to stop. In this moment you have no future and no past you just have a now and the now is all you want, all that matters. The now is good enough forever.

"Oh Ino I'm so sorry." Shikamaru whispered to her softly.


End file.
